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Sunday Shortz Era puzzles with the most "open" grids
Grids that have more open white space are typically harder to solve and to construct.
The "open square count" here adds up the number of white squares that do not touch a block (black square), even diagonally.
Sun 11/24/2019OPEN WIDE!
D | A | N | I | E | L | C | R | A | I | G | | T | A | K | E | S | H | A | P | E |
U | S | E | D | V | E | H | I | C | L | E | | U | N | E | N | T | E | R | E | D |
C | O | L | L | E | G | E | P | R | E | P | | T | I | E | D | Y | E | I | N | G |
A | F | L | Y | | | E | L | I | S | H | A | | S | P | I | L | L | A | N | E |
| | | | I | R | K | E | D | | A | M | A | T | I | V | E | | | | |
J | E | A | L | O | U | S | Y | | P | R | I | S | O | N | E | S | C | A | P | E |
O | U | T | I | N | G | | | C | A | D | G | I | N | G | | | O | D | O | R |
A | B | A | C | I | | S | H | O | R | T | O | F | | | E | T | C | H | I | N |
D | I | R | E | C | T | L | I | N | E | | | | S | I | L | I | C | O | N | E |
S | E | I | | B | R | A | N | D | N | A | M | E | P | R | O | D | U | C | T | S |
| | | T | O | O | K | T | O | T | H | E | S | L | O | P | E | S | | | |
S | E | V | E | N | Y | E | A | R | S | I | N | T | I | B | E | T | | V | A | T |
W | E | I | R | D | E | S | T | | | | D | E | C | O | R | A | T | I | V | E |
A | R | N | E | S | S | | | D | E | S | E | R | E | T | | B | E | L | I | E |
R | I | G | S | | | C | O | A | L | E | R | S | | | S | L | A | L | O | M |
M | E | T | A | A | N | A | L | Y | S | E | S | | S | T | H | E | L | E | N | S |
| | | | M | I | M | E | S | I | S | | C | E | R | E | S | | | | |
S | A | D | F | A | C | E | S | | E | T | A | L | I | I | | | F | L | A | P |
A | L | E | R | T | E | D | T | O | | A | M | A | Z | O | N | P | R | I | M | E |
A | T | L | E | I | S | U | R | E | | R | A | R | E | D | I | S | E | A | S | E |
R | O | A | D | S | T | E | A | D | | S | H | O | R | E | P | A | T | R | O | L |
Sun 11/4/2018UNTHEMED
B | O | B | S | F | O | R | A | P | P | L | E | S | | M | I | D | R | I | F | F |
A | R | E | W | E | D | O | N | E | H | E | R | E | | O | C | E | A | N | I | A |
W | I | R | E | R | E | C | O | R | D | E | R | S | | T | O | E | T | A | G | S |
L | O | R | E | N | | K | I | S | S | | O | S | M | O | N | D | | S | E | T |
S | N | A | P | | B | O | N | E | | B | R | I | A | R | S | | H | E | A | D |
| | | | P | O | U | T | | B | E | F | O | G | S | | F | A | N | T | A |
D | E | S | C | E | N | T | | L | E | A | R | N | S | | D | O | R | S | E | Y |
I | N | T | O | T | O | | H | A | L | V | E | S | | P | O | R | T | E | R | S |
T | R | A | P | S | | B | O | W | T | I | E | | M | E | M | E | | | | |
K | A | T | I | E | H | O | L | M | E | S | | P | A | R | A | S | A | I | L | |
O | P | E | N | M | I | N | D | E | D | | B | A | R | M | I | T | Z | V | A | H |
| T | D | G | A | R | D | E | N | | M | A | S | K | I | N | G | T | A | P | E |
| | | | T | E | E | M | | C | O | R | S | E | T | | R | E | N | T | S |
R | I | C | H | A | R | D | | S | O | R | B | E | T | | G | E | C | K | O | S |
A | M | O | U | R | S | | F | O | U | L | E | D | | G | O | E | S | A | P | E |
D | I | R | T | Y | | A | L | F | R | E | D | | B | R | A | N | | | | |
I | N | N | S | | P | R | E | T | T | Y | | M | O | O | T | | S | C | A | B |
O | L | E | | S | E | N | A | T | E | | V | A | T | S | | C | L | O | S | E |
C | O | L | G | A | T | E | | A | S | B | I | G | A | S | A | H | O | U | S | E |
A | V | I | A | T | E | S | | C | A | Y | E | N | N | E | P | E | P | P | E | R |
R | E | A | P | E | R | S | | O | N | E | W | A | Y | S | T | R | E | E | T | S |
Sun 5/17/2020WIDE-OPEN SPACES
A | T | P | A | R | | | A | N | C | H | O | V | Y | | S | P | E | E | D | O |
R | H | I | N | O | | A | P | A | R | I | C | I | O | | P | L | A | N | E | R |
K | E | N | T | C | I | G | A | R | E | T | T | E | S | | L | A | S | T | E | D |
A | V | E | S | | S | E | R | R | A | T | E | D | | F | U | N | T | I | M | E |
N | A | T | | W | E | N | T | A | T | I | T | | B | A | R | T | E | R | E | R |
S | U | R | E | B | E | T | | T | I | N | | C | O | N | G | O | R | E | D | S |
A | L | E | X | A | | | K | I | N | G | H | U | S | S | E | I | N | | | |
S | T | E | T | | S | T | O | V | E | T | O | P | S | | S | L | A | T | E | D |
| | | R | E | C | I | P | E | | H | O | P | E | S | | S | U | A | V | E |
| S | E | A | S | O | N | S | | D | E | T | E | S | T | S | | S | H | I | N |
O | U | R | L | O | R | D | | S | A | P | I | D | | P | I | S | T | O | L | S |
U | S | N | A | | N | E | B | U | L | A | E | | N | A | T | U | R | E | S | |
T | H | I | R | D | | R | E | S | I | N | | I | G | U | A | N | A | | | |
S | I | E | G | E | L | | U | S | A | I | N | B | O | L | T | | L | I | Z | A |
| | | E | C | U | R | R | E | N | C | I | E | S | | | B | I | D | E | N |
Z | E | P | P | O | M | A | R | X | | B | E | T | | B | E | L | A | I | R | S |
A | Q | U | I | L | I | N | E | | C | U | L | T | H | E | R | O | | T | O | W |
M | U | Z | Z | L | E | D | | H | O | T | S | E | A | T | S | | M | A | Z | E |
F | I | Z | Z | E | R | | H | U | N | T | E | R | G | A | T | H | E | R | E | R |
I | N | L | A | T | E | | A | R | G | O | N | G | A | S | | S | N | O | R | E |
R | E | E | S | E | S | | P | L | A | N | S | O | N | | | T | U | D | O | R |
Rank | Date | Open Squares | Author | Title |
1. | November 24, 2019 | 189 | Frank Longo | OPEN WIDE! |
2. | November 4, 2018 | 186 | Patrick Berry | UNTHEMED |
3. | May 17, 2020 | 177 | Byron Walden | WIDE-OPEN SPACES |
4. | January 6, 2002 | 168 | Frank A. Longo | MAMMALS WITH CHARACTER |
5. | June 16, 2019 | 166 | Joel Fagliano | NOT IN SO MANY WORDS |
6. | July 11, 2004 | 164 | Randolph Ross | YOU SEE NOW? |
7. | March 26, 2000 | 158 | Manny Nosowsky | STARTING COSTS |
| March 4, 2018 | 158 | Byron Walden | CHARACTER BUILDING |
9. | April 27, 1997 | 157 | Matt Gaffney | Off the Rack |
| November 10, 2013 | 157 | Alan Olschwang | BYE-LINES |
11. | September 4, 2011 | 154 | Dana Delany and Matt Ginsberg | THAT'S DISGUSTING! |
| January 20, 2013 | 154 | Yaakov Bendavid | ALL-INSPIRING |
13. | November 15, 2015 | 153 | Alan Arbesfeld | HAVING ASPIRATIONS |
| September 16, 2018 | 153 | Joel Fagliano | "UH, WHAT?" |
15. | January 5, 1997 | 152 | W. R. Williams | Theme: Water, Water Everywhere |
| August 2, 2020 | 152 | David Levinson Wilk | PUZZLIN' |
17. | June 7, 2020 | 151 | Andy Kravis | SURPLUS STORE |
18. | October 16, 1994 | 150 | Raymond Hamel | Out Of Their Element |
| March 22, 1998 | 150 | Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon | Anagrammatic Disclosures |
| August 18, 2013 | 150 | Elizabeth C. Gorski | EDGINESS |
| July 15, 2018 | 150 | Sam Ezersky and Byron Walden | COMPLIMENTARY |
| May 24, 2020 | 150 | Andrew Chaikin | THE MYSTERY OF MCGUFFIN MANOR |
23. | December 29, 1996 | 149 | B. White | Theme: A Host of Sins |
24. | November 30, 2003 | 148 | Manny Nosowsky | YUKS IN THE HENHOUSE |
| July 9, 2006 | 148 | Patrick Berry | KNEECAPS |
| September 11, 2011 | 148 | Kay Anderson | CORNERED |
| November 27, 2011 | 148 | Jeff Chen | YIN/YANG |
28. | February 15, 2009 | 147 | Jim Leeds | DOUBLE-O SEVEN |
29. | November 24, 2002 | 146 | Nancy Salomon and Lee Glickstein | ODD JOBS |
| September 19, 2004 | 146 | Kyle Mahowald | I.E., NOT I |